After reforming in 2011 and releasing the respectable KING KOBRA, the band is back with their latest album, seeking to continue the momentum gained by the unexpected quality of their 2011 album. The lineup remains the same as on KING KOBRA, being all the original members from the 80s save for vocalist Paul Shortino. The band has been actively promoting the new album, with drummer Carmine Appice appearing on VH1’s “That Metal Show” and the all of the members doing extensive interviews and promotions. The new album has been on many folks radar for awhile because of the promotional efforts of the band and label, and again it is a worthy effort, combining 80s glam with 70s boogie and blues rock.

Shortino is basically the secret weapon here, possessing a soulful and emotional voice, whiskey inflected and smoky. The songs much like the band’s 80s material, borrow from a number of influences. You can hear Nazareth, Junkyard, Whitesnake, Van Halen and a hint of Motley Crüe in King Kobra’s sound. The first two tracks are your up tempo numbers, “Hell On Wheels” opening things with a train coming on fast down the tracks and chugging guitars, while “Knock ‘Em Dead” is ballsy and uncomplicated 80s glam metal. Shortino is perfect for this style of music, and credit the band for incorporating more of that 70s vibe to help distinguish this album from their 80s material. Still, this ain’t exactly original, and the predictability of the album is simultaneously a blessing and a weakness.

Hard to argue with the quality of the ballads though, particularly “Take Me Back”, which is given, added emotion and authenticity because of Shortino and a tasteful steel guitar. The song could easily have appeared on any Nazareth album, and rivals some of that band’s best ballads. “Running Wild” delivers a Whitesnake vibe, while “Have A Good Time” does exactly that. Production is quite decent, with the guitars having a gritty and dirty sound. Appice holds down the fort, while offering nothing extraordinary, seemingly content to let the songs do the talking and ensuring him a fairly easy job come while on tour.

Other than the somewhat obviousness of the album, its only other weakness is the overly long running time, clocking in at over an hour with almost every song at the 5 minute mark and three tunes over 6 minutes. King Kobra is not a progressive band and some songs become repetitive and bog down, when lopping off a few minutes would have greatly enhanced the impact of many tunes. Overall, it is a minor gripe and fans of 70s and 80s grit and glam metal and rock will certainly enjoy KING KOBRA II. Recommended for fans of the band mentioned above.

Of all of the ‘80s hard rockers to reunite and release new music, I would argue that King Kobra was one that came with low expectations. After all, despite some success with “Never Say Die (Iron Eagle)”, the band was decidedly second tier, even at the height of their fame. Well, the band’s classic lineup from their first two albums did get back together, along with vocalist Paul Shortino (Rough Cutt, Quiet Riot) and released a very good, solid rock album with 2011’s KING KOBRA.

Two years later and the band is back in even finer form, as II is actually superior to KING KOBRA. No big changes have been made to the band’s rough ‘n tumble hard rock, but there’s a greater sense of purpose to songs like band mission statement “Knock Them Dead” that eclipses the previous effort. As evidenced by the awesome bluesy rocker, “The Ballad of Johnny Rod”, no band that includes the still mega-blond bassist will can be considered tentative, but II just has a swagger that I didn’t expect. A lot of that can be attributed to Shortino’s worn & smoky vocals – the guy is excellent and should have been a mega-star.

Although the band does expand their repertoire with the Zeppelin-esque “Deep River”, it’s the party rockers that stick with me: “Hell on Wheels”, “Running Wild” and “The Crunch” should all be hits on the radio. Even though they won’t be, that’s no excuse for the album to be overlooked. II is an excellent rock album that is too much fun to be missed. Search it out!

Track Listing

1. Hell on Wheels
2. Knock Them Dead
3. Have a Good Time
4. The Ballad of Johnny Rod
5. Take Me Back
6. When the Hammer Comes Down
7. Running Wild
8. The Crunch
9. Got It Coming
10. Deep River
11. Don’t Keep Me Waiting
12. We Go Round